Betting on the Buffett of Barges

Charles Fabrikant has built Seacor Holdings into a major operator of work boats—and a consistent friend of investors. How he's catching the wave as Gulf drilling picks up.

By

Christopher C. Williams

March 23, 2013

By

Christopher C. Williams

March 23, 2013

To Charles Fabrikant, business is all about capital allocation—how to mix and match assets and when to buy and sell. Even the paint used on his company's many vessels is subject to his cost-conscious eye. That became clear 24 years ago when Fabrikant bought a small shipping outfit called Nicor and set out to give it a more nautical name. He hit on Seacor, he has said, "primarily because it was less costly to paint over two letters than the entire name."